Since submitting the last Declaration of Conformity on 4 December 2018, freenet AG has complied with the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code (“Code”) as amended on 7 February 2017 with the following exceptions and will continue to comply with the recommendations of the Code as amended on 7 February 2017, unless stated otherwise by the company in the following.

1. The company has taken out D&O insurance for its board members. No deductible has been stipulated for Supervisory Board members because it is not evident that this would represent an advantage for the company. It is taken for granted that all Supervisory Board members carry out their duties responsibly. In order to treat all the Supervisory Board members equally, moreover, any deductible would have to be set at a uniform level, even though the members’ personal financial backgrounds vary. A deductible would therefore constitute different burdens for the individual Supervisory Board members. As their responsibilities are the same, this does not seem appropriate. (Code clause 3.8 (3))

2. The company has a strong commitment to transparent reporting. This also applies to the remuneration of the Executive Board members, the separate components of which are disclosed and discussed individually in the remuneration report. Nonetheless, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board have decided not to use the model tables in the remuneration report to present the Executive Board’s remuneration. Although the service contracts with the Executive Board members provide for caps, there is a risk that the disclosure of maximum amounts for share-based payment components creates an impression which is inconsistent with the actual assumptions for the performance of the share price. (Code clause 4.2.5 sentence 5 and 6)

3. When appointing new members to the Executive Board, the Supervisory Board so far has appointed those candidates to the Executive Board who were best suited in particular because of their knowledge and skills acquired in the course of their many years of service in the company. In contrast, the criteria for the composition of the Executive Board mentioned in clause 5.1.2 (1) of the Code were not the focus of the Supervisory Board's attention when previous appointments were made and will remain subordinate with respect to future appointments from the Supervisory Board's point of view. (Code clause 5.1.2 (1))

4. No age limit has been set for members of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board. It is not evident why qualified individuals with relevant professional and other experience should not be considered as candidates solely on the grounds of their age. (Code clauses 5.1.2 sentence 8 and 5.4.1 sentence 2)

5. The Supervisory Board does not specify any concrete targets for its composition, as defined in Code clauses 5.4.1 (2) and 5.4.2 sentence 1. It therefore also does not draw up a profile of skills for the entire board. It can therefore not follow the recommendations made in Code clause 5.4.1 (4). When proposing new members for election, the Supervisory Board has so far been guided solely by their suitability. The Supervisory Board is convinced that this has proven to be effective. It therefore sees no need to change the practice. (Code clauses 5.4.1 (2), (4) and 5.4.2 sentence 1)

6. Clause 5.4.6 (2) of the Code recommends linking performance-related remuneration for Supervisory Board members to the sustained performance of the company. The Supervisory Board’s variable remuneration is set according to the dividend for the past financial year, in line with section 11 (5) of the company’s articles of association. This form of variable remuneration has proven its worth in the past. Furthermore, the company’s dividend policy as communicated to financial markets, which is based on free cash flow, is linked to the company’s sustained performance. Linking variable remuneration to this dividend strategy therefore also serves the company’s sustained performance. For this reason, there is no intention of changing the Supervisory Board’s variable remuneration. (Code clause 5.4.6 (2))

freenet AG has a compliance system that is continuously expanded and enhanced. The freenet Group’s Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) reports directly to the Executive Board. He helps the Executive Board to highlight the legal requirements that are relevant for freenet AG and to implement them accordingly within the freenet Group, as well as to adapt the compliance system to changing requirements. The CCO also reports regularly to the Supervisory Board’s audit committee. The Chief Compliance Officer informs the Supervisory Board whenever risks arise which endanger the continued existence of the freenet Group.

The freenet Group is fully committed to upholding the prevailing laws and statutes. For the freenet Group, compliance means that statutory provisions are adhered to, the Group’s own rules and in-house guidelines are observed and criminal acts are prevented. The company does everything it can to ensure that compliance violations, such as fraud, corruption, anti-competition practices and data privacy violations do not arise in the first place. As soon as misconduct and infringements of compliance become evident, these are brought to light and tackled decisively.

The freenet Group’s managers set a good example in upholding compliance and ensure that any significant steps taken within their own fields of responsibility are in accordance with the respective statutory provisions and its own values and rules.

The compliance organisation can be approached by any contact person for advice on individual issues.

The Compliance unit has developed a whistleblower tool and implemented it within the freenet Group. It enables whistleblowers to give tip-offs anonymously as soon as infringements of compliance come to their attention.

All tip-offs are investigated promptly as part of a transparent and accountable process in which the interests of the whistleblower, the persons affected and the company are taken into account.

The aim is to enable the company to take systematic and appropriate action immediately when compliance is violated and thereby to avert economic or reputational damage to the freenet Group and the affected stakeholders. In order to ensure the proper, swift handling of tip-offs in accordance with the whistleblower process, the freenet Group has set up a whistleblower committee. Permanent members of the whistleblower committee are the Chief Compliance Officer as well as the responsible head of Internal Auditing and the head of Fraud Management. The whistleblower committee is responsible for the operational implementation of the whistleblower process.

A centralised fraud management unit has also been set up. In addition to its coordinating function for the individual specialist anit-fraud departments in the freenet Group, this unit is responsible in particular for the introduction and improvement of effective preventive measures and processes for preventing damage to the freenet Group caused by fraud, and for investigating fraud.

The significance of data protection has increased continuously in recent years. The freenet Group is aware of its special responsibility with regard to the handling of the personal data of customers, suppliers, contractual partners and employees, especially given the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and special regulations applying in the telecommunications sector. It is therefore important to protect this data against unauthorised access. For this reason, the Group uses modern security technologies and regularly draws the attention of its employees to this subject in order to continuously improve the overall security level and to meet the challenges posed by the growing threats.

freenet AG’s Executive Board and Supervisory Board work together in a close and trusting manner in their management and supervision of the company.

It is the duty of the Executive Board, as the parent company’s management body, to serve the interests of the company. It currently consists of five members. The Executive Board’s work is governed by its rules of procedure. The members of the Executive Board are jointly responsible for corporate management as a whole. In other respects, each Executive Board member is responsible for their own sphere of business. The Executive Board members work together in a spirit of cooperation and inform one another about facts and developments in their respective spheres of business at regular Executive Board meetings. In addition, the Executive Board members attend regular meetings of the specialist departments. The Supervisory Board determines the areas of responsibility of the individual members of the Management Board in a schedule of responsibilities.

The Supervisory Board is convened at least twice in each calendar half-year. It generally makes its decisions at meetings requiring personal attendance, but also by way of telephone conferences or by written communications. The Supervisory Board regularly advises the Executive Board when the latter is making its decisions about the company’s management and also supervises its management activities. In so doing, the Executive Board includes the Supervisory Board in all decisions of a fundamental nature relating to the company’s management and reports regularly about the business performance, the corporate planning, the strategic development and the situation of the company. The Supervisory Board in turn conducts a detailed examination of all deviations of business performance from the plans and targets and discusses these with the Executive Board. It also conducts detailed checks on business transactions of significance for the company on the basis of Executive Board reports, discusses them and makes decisions as and when required. Outside of the meetings, too, the Supervisory Board members were informed by the Executive Board about current business developments.

The Executive Board has not constituted any committees.

The Supervisory Board has set up five committees. These committees prepare the topics and resolutions of the Supervisory Board which are due to be discussed by the full Board and in some individual areas are authorised to make decisions in place of the full Board. The committees carry out their work in meetings requiring personal attendance. In exceptional cases, however, the meetings can also be conducted by telephone. The committees discuss the items on their agendas and make decisions concerning these if required. The committee chairpersons report on the subject matter of the committee meetings to the full Supervisory Board. With the exception of the nomination committee, all committees comprise equal numbers of shareholders’ representatives and employees’ representatives.

Steering committee

The steering committee discusses focal topics and prepares Supervisory Board resolutions. It can take the place of the Supervisory Board, with the required approval of the Executive Board in accordance with the latter’s rules of procedure, in deciding on measures and transactions of the Executive Board, insofar as the matter in question cannot be deferred and it is not possible for the Supervisory Board to make an appropriate decision within the time available.

Members: Prof. Dr Helmut Thoma (chairman), Thorsten Kraemer, Gerhard Huck, Knut Mackeprang


Personnel committee

The personnel committee prepares the Supervisory Board’s personnel decisions. It submits to the Supervisory Board proposals for decisions on the Executive Board’s remuneration, the remuneration system and regular review of that system. The committee makes decisions in place of the Supervisory Board – but subject to mandatory responsibilities of the Supervisory Board – on Executive Board members’ business that is relevant for personnel.

Members: Prof. Dr Helmut Thoma (chairman), Sabine Christiansen, Claudia Anderleit, Knut Mackeprang


Audit committee

The audit committee concerns itself with the monitoring of the accounting process, the effectiveness of the internal control system, the risk management system and the internal auditing system, and auditing of financial statements, in the latter case especially with regard to the choice of auditor and their independence and the additional services rendered by the auditor, the awarding of the audit engagement to the auditor, the determination of key audit matters and the fee agreement. It is also responsible for approving the permissible non-audit services to be rendered by the auditor. It also concerns itself with compliance-related issues.

Members: Robert Weidinger (chairman), Marc Tüngler, Bente Brandt, Thomas Reimann


Mediation committee

The mediation committee is constituted in accordance with section 27 (3) of the German Co-determination Act (Mitbestimmungsgesetz–MitbestG) so that it can perform the task described in section 31 (3) sentence 1 MitbestG.

Members: Prof. Dr Helmut Thoma (chairman), Fränzi Kühne, Knut Mackeprang, Theo-Benneke Bretsch


Nomination committee

The nomination committee has the task of suggesting suitable candidates to the Supervisory Board for proposal to the Annual General Meeting in the run-up to new elections.

Members: Prof. Dr Helmut Thoma (chairman), Marc Tüngler, Sabine Christiansen

The Supervisory Board and Executive Board have each defined the following targets for the period until 31 December 2021 with regard to the percentage of women on the Executive Board and on the two management tiers below the Executive Board:

	Target for 31 December 2021
Executive Board	0%
Management tier 1 (direct reports)	30%
Management tier 2 (heads of department)	30%

The targets to be achieved in the last reference period by 30 June 2017 for the percentage of women on the Executive Board and on the two management tiers below the Executive Board as defined by the Supervisory Board and Executive Board were achieved as follows:

	Target for 30 June 2017	Actual of 30 June 2017
Executive Board	0%	0%
Management tier 1 (direct reports)	25%	40%
Management tier 2 (heads of department)	27.5%	33.3%

In the period under review, the percentages of men and women on the Supervisory Board complied with the legal requirement of a minimum percentage of 30 per cent.

The company has not adopted a diversity plan which defines the criteria for the composition of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board with regard to aspects such as age, gender or education or career background.

With regard to its own composition, the Supervisory Board has complied with the legal requirements regarding gender diversity. It has so far always rejected the further recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code regarding the composition of supervisory boards, and has explained the differences in its Declarations of Conformity with the German Corporate Governance Code. In the case of proposed candidates for election to the Supervisory Board, the Supervisory Board is convinced that it should focus exclusively on the suitability of the candidates. In addition, there is no current requirement for considerations regarding the future composition of the Supervisory Board.

After increasing the number of Executive Board members, the Supervisory Board aims to achieve continuity in 2018 with regard to the composition of the Executive Board, and wishes to avoid potential uncertainty among its members. Such uncertainty might arise if the Supervisory Board sets up a general diversity plan for the composition of the Executive Board without a specific reason. The Supervisory Board currently sees no need for a diversity plan and would like to take a wait-and-see attitude regarding further developments.